In the first study, researchers at the University of Stirling, in the United Kingdom, exposed bumblebees to low, "field-realistic" levels of a neonicotinoid insecticide called imidacloprid. The bumblebees didn't die, but in a remarkable and unexpected development, they almost stopped making new queen bees.

In the second study, carried out in France, honeybees that were exposed to another nicotinoid seemed less able to navigate, and many never found their way back to their home hive. This study, however, exposed the bees to higher levels of pesticide, probably higher than most bees encounter in the real world.

For their part, NPR reports that Bayer responded with a critique of "artificially generated" results that don't match actual field conditions for bees. And manipulation of science is something that Bayer can claim to have some knowledge about. The original safety testing for Bayer's clothianaidin involved placing four hives in just 2.5 acres of treated canola, which in turn were surrounded by thousands of acres of untreated canola. Given that bees forage over many thousands of acres, it seems fair to say that these results were as "artificially generated" as they come.